Thomas Boyd/The OregonianAsk a question of Chip Kelly, and you're never sure what he will reference with his response.

EUGENE -- We're only halfway through Civil War week, and it's already been wild.

In Eugene, you have cornerback Cliff Harris matter-of-factly dismissing Oregon State as the rivalry's "little brother" and coach Chip Kelly going back and forth on the Civil War's significance.

You have the UO coaches quoting Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu, who wrote the "Art of War."

In Corvallis, I have to believe the Beavers are bristling -- regardless of what they say publicly -- about the "little brother" line, and Oregon State students are doing a slow burn about having the ESPN College GameDay crew in town mostly because Oregon happens to be playing there.

I have a few thoughts:

First, about Harris: the UO sophomore was just answering a question and being honest. It wasn't politically correct, but let's be real here. The Ducks have won the last two Civil War games, are No. 1 in the polls and No. 2 in the BCS standings. The Beavers need to win just to get .500.

I don't think Harris was trying to insult anybody. And, the off-hand, matter-of-fact way he answered the question probably made his words burn even more.

As far as GameDay, the guys and Erin Andrews will be there because of the Ducks' status as national championship contenders. No question.

But I'm guessing they wouldn't mind seeing Oregon State turn this into a four-quarter battle. If the Beavers win, it's going to be the story of the week in college football, and one of the stories of the season.

Kelly was all over the map while trying to answer a question about the Civil War rivalry. But I think he was being straight when he said he thinks the Ducks have 12 rivalries. It's the essence of his Win The Day philosophy.

He's a fun guy to cover, because you're never quite sure where he is going to go in response to a question.

How many football coaches quote Sun Tzu and Winston Churchill, and pepper responses with references to Jonas Salk, Will Hunting and the Pythagorean theorem? The guy knows more than just Xs and Os.

Of course, all the talk is nothing but hype. This thing will get settled on the field, at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Reser Stadium (ABC).

And when it goes between the lines, I think little brother will give big brother all he wants.